LAFAYETTE — Burton Valley Elementary School students are forced to walk in the road and weave among parked cars as they head to classes because the street in front of the campus has no sidewalks.
In hopes of making the area safer, Lafayette will install speed humps, cut back plants and paint curbs red near some intersections close to the school to make it easier for motorists to slow down and see better while making turns.
The city also will add a stop sign on Indian Way at Merriewood Drive — less than a block from the school — and adding reflectors on neighborhood streets to alert drivers when they veer out of the traffic lane.
The pandemic has underscored the danger around the school at 561 Merriewood Drive as more people are spending time outdoors, seeking a break from the isolation the virus has caused.
“There’s just a lot of walkers, a lot of dog walkers, bikers,” Mike Moran, Lafayette’s director of engineering and public works, told the City Council last week, when it unanimously backed the safety measures. “It’s not far from the Lafayette-Moraga trail (of the East Bay Regional Park District). It’s just kind of a great neighborhood, and a lot of people are very active there.”
The measures will be in place for one year. At that point, city officials will determine if the changes boosted safety, including reducing speeding.
Manju Lind, who has lived in the neighborhood for 13 years and whose two children recently graduated from the school, has seen the problem first-hand.
“I very quickly realized that they would never be allowed to walk or ride to school without an adult because the last half-mile stretch of road is treacherous,” said Lind, one of the dozens of residents who spoke during the council meeting. The meeting lasted more than six hours.
Others also commented, including via email, during a town hall and meetings that Lafayette’s Transportation & Circulation Commission held.
The council also wants parking limited near Burton Valley school as a way to clear space for when students arrive or leave campus.
No parking will be allowed on the west side of Merriewood, as well as on portions of Silverwood and Rohrer drives, during school days and during times when students are arriving or leaving. The exact hours still need to be worked out with the Lafayette School District.
The city has not released a date for when the safety measures will be put in place.
Moran told the council a “protected path” for pedestrians and cyclists along Mewrriewood could be created in the future, including possibly building a sidewalk. The idea hinges on securing neighborhood support through helping pay for it, he said.
A proposal to build a walking and cycling path with a “berm” edge — or a low-lying raised concrete stretch about ankle-length high or a similar strip as a protective border between the path and traffic lane — did not gain enough traction among the council to be part of the pilot program.
The safety measures will cost an estimated $55,000, according to city officials.
Joshua Baker, who lives a few doors down from Burton Valley school, said he supports plans to improve traffic safety. But he was against prohibiting any parking.
Baker has multiple sclerosis and uses a cane to walk. His physical condition could worsen, he told the council, requiring him to need a walker or wheelchair to get around.
If that happens, he will need to park as close to his home as possible, Baker said.
“Let’s assume parking is banned in front of my house or a neighbor’s I want to visit,” Baker said. “What then? Necessarily, I have to park farther away, increasing my walking distance, exertion, slope exposure, odds of tripping and falling in the street. And when I trip and fall, I can be slow to recover.”
A parking ban also would be unfair to the elderly visiting family or friends who might have to physically struggle as a result of having to park a distance away, Baker said.
Fellow resident John Cunningham said he supports the effort to slow traffic in the neighborhood, known locally as Burton Valley.
“We need an option to get kids out of the street,” Cunningham said.
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